The Initiation of Sarah (1978)

★ 5.5 1h 36m IMDb
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Shy misfit Sarah Goodwin has a secret gift: the ability to control — and destroy — with her mind. When Sarah goes off to college with her more outgoing and popular sister, Patty, their plans to join the most prestigious sorority on campus are scuttled by snobby president, Jennifer Lawrence. Separated from her sister, Sarah is taken in by a rival, less popular sorority, whose mysterious house mother, Mrs. Hunter, is harboring a secret of her own: a scheme to harness Sarah's terrifying power for revenge. Betrayed by Patty, humiliated by Jennifer, it can only be a matter of time before Sorority Hell Week erupts in flame!

The Initiation of Sarah

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Cast

Kay Lenz
Kay Lenz as Sarah Goodwin Age 73 · Los Angeles, California, USA Kay Ann Lenz (born March 4, 1953) is an American actress. A former child performer, Lenz has worked primarily in television and has won two Emmy Awards..
Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters as Mrs. Erica Hunter Died 2006 · St. Louis, Missouri, USA Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American actress whose career spanned almost six decades. She appeared in numerous films, and won Academy Awards for T...
Tony Bill
Tony Bill as Paul Yates Age 85 · San Diego, California, USA Gerard Anthony "Tony" Bill (born August 23, 1940) is an American actor, producer, and director. He produced the 1973 movie The Sting, for which he shared the Academy Award for Best Picture with Michae...
Kathryn Grant
Kathryn Grant as Mrs. Goodwin Died 2024 · West Columbia, Texas, USA Kathryn Crosby (November 25, 1933 - September 20, 2024) was an American actress and singer who also performed under the stage-name Kathryn Grant. Born Olive Kathryn Grandstaff in Houston, Texas, she...
Morgan Fairchild
Morgan Fairchild as Jennifer Lawrence Age 76 · Dallas, Texas, USA Morgan Fairchild (born Patsy Ann McClenny; February 3, 1950) is an American actress. She achieved prominence during the late 1970s and early 1980s with continuing roles in several television series, i...
Morgan Brittany
Morgan Brittany as Patty Goodwin Age 74 · Los Angeles, California, USA Morgan Brittany (born Suzanne Cupito) is an American actress born in Los Angeles. She is known for her role as Katherine Wentworth, the scheming younger half-sister of Pamela Ewing and Cliff Barnes, o...

Audience Reviews

Wuchak 7/10 Mar 06, 2022
_**A Tale of Two Sororities with telekinesis and a dab of the occult**_

Two loving sisters, one beautiful & popular and the other adopted & withdrawn (Morgan Brittany & Kay Lenz), start college in SoCal where the former is accepted by an uppity sorority while the latter joins a sorority of outcasts. Havoc ensues. Costars include: Morgan Fairchild, Shelley Winters, Tony Bill and Robert Hays.

"The Initiation of Sarah" (1978) is a television knockoff of “Carrie” (1976) mixed with “Satan’s School for Girls” (1973). While not on the level of the former, it’s superior to the latter because it’s dramatically weightier, plus you can’t beat the notable cast (this was before Fairchild and Brittany shot to fame).

It was remade in 2006 with Morgan Fairchild returning as the mother of the two sisters, Mrs. Goodwin.

The movie runs 1 hour, 36 minutes, and was shot at S. Lorraine Blvd, Los Angeles (the PED sorority house) and California Institute of Technology, Pasadena.

GRADE: B
JPV852 7/10 Jun 17, 2022
Definitely has flavors of Carrie in this TV movie but still pretty entertaining though does lag some in the second act before redeeming itself with a satisfying finale. Solid performances including Kay Lenz as Sarah. **3.75/5**

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